The invention relates to connectors for conduit and specifically to an improved liquid tight connector for joining non-metallic or metallic conduit to junction boxes or panels. Conduit may be secured to the rearward end of the connector without the required tightening of nuts with hand tools as in prior art connectors. The forward end of the connector may be secured by a snap fitting, or, by a lock nut to create a liquid tight fit between the connector and the panel.
Many prior art liquid tight connectors are commonly in use for connecting non-metallic or metallic conduit to panels or electrical boxes. These connectors are usually multi-piece devices that must be dismantled to fit the conduit into the fitting and then reassembled to secure the conduit. Most of these prior art fittings require the use of a hand tool to tighten a nut sufficiently to achieve a liquid tight connection between the conduit and the connector. Most prior art liquid tight connectors also require the tightening of a nut on the forward end of the fitting to achieve a liquid tight connection between the fitting and the panel or junction box.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,068 to Law, granted Feb. 13, 1990 (hereinafter the ""068 patent) claims a liquid tight connector that accepts a non-metallic conduit that is grasped by fingers on a clip grasping on an annular ring on a ferrule. To fit the conduit into the liquid tight connector of the ""068 patent, an installer usually must remove a compression on the rearward end of the connector, insert the conduit into the fitting, and then tighten the compression nut with a hand tool such as a wrench to achieve a liquid tight fit. The forward end of the fitting is threaded and must be inserted into the knock-out of a panel or box, a nut is screwed onto the threaded end, and then a hand tool is typically used to secure the fitting to the panel or box. A hand tool therefore is typically employed to achieve a secure liquid tight fit on both the rearward end of the fitting, between the conduit and the fitting, and on the forward end of the fitting, between the fitting and the panel or box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,072 granted to Bawa, et al., on Dec. 10, 1991 (hereinafter the ""072 patent) attempts to improve upon the fitting provided in the ""068 patent by providing a fitting that requires minimal torque on a gland nut to secure the conduit to the rearward end of the fitting. Upon tightening of the gland nut on the connector body claimed by the ""072 patent, the gland nut engages resilient fingers with minimal friction loss, thereby enhancing hand tightening or minimizing the torque required with a tightening tool. The ""072 patent therefore requires the separate operation of tightening a nut either by hand or with a tightening tool. The forward end of the fitting in the ""072 patent is typically threaded and requires the use of a nut to secure the fitting to the panel and also an O-ring between a forward shoulder and the panel to achieve a liquid tight fit.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/017,537 entitled xe2x80x9cLiquid Tight Connectorxe2x80x9d, filed Oct. 22, 2001 by Gretz, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,194 and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, provided a liquid tight connector that solved many of the problems inherent in prior art connectors. The connector of U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,194 provided a one-piece connector assembly, which could be installed to a panel by simply pushing a conduit into a channel on its rearward end and then pushing the forward end into a knockout in a panel or junction box. By providing a connector in which disassembly of parts and tightening of nuts was not required, the connector of the aforementioned application therefore provided a significant labor saving device over prior art liquid tight connectors for conduit. This improved connector included a utinary retainer body to function in cooperation with an integral ferrule on a tubular body member to create a conduit accepting channel on the rearward end of the connector for creating a liquid tight fit between a conduit and the connector.
The present invention improves upon the connector of U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,194 by replacing the unitary retainer body with an annular sealing ring and an annular retainer ring to improve the sealing effectiveness and the liquid tightness between the conduit and the connector.
The invention is an assembly of parts that is provided as a one-piece connector for achieving a liquid tight seal between a non-metallic or metallic conduit and an electrical panel or box. The connector includes a tubular member with an axial bore there through and a centrally located flange dividing it into two ends including a forward end having threads on its exterior surface and a rearward end having an extending ferrule. A spring steel adapter or a lock nut may be used to connect the forward end to a panel in a liquid tight fit. The rearward end accommodates an annular sealing ring and an annular retaining ring held within an annular cover member. A conduit accepting channel is thereby formed within the rearward end. A conduit may be secured to the rearward end of the connector by simply pushing it within the channel and tightening the cover to achieve a liquid tight fit. The connector provides significant labor savings over prior art liquid tight conduit connectors as disassembly of parts prior to insertion of the conduit is eliminated.